Continuous strip forming apparatus with heater unit



N. MOREAU Feb. 8, 1966 CONTINUOUS STRIP FORMING APPARATUS WITH HEATERUNIT Original Filed May 15, 1960 mu MN MW INVENTOR. fl amwm/ fife/25,4 u

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Arro/PNEY United States Patent 3,233,997 CONTINUOUS STRlP FORMINGAPPARATUS WITH HEATER UNIT Norman Moreau, Lincoin, RL, assignor toCorning glass Works, Corning, N.Y., a corporation of New ork Originalapplication May 13, 1960, Ser. No. 29,105, now Patent No. 3,179,158,dated Apr. 20, 1265. Divided and this application Sept. 9, 1964, Ser.No. 395,265 Claims. (Cl. 65184) This application is a division of mycopending application, Serial No. 29,105, filed on May 13, 1960, 3,179,-158 issued April 20, 1965.

The present invention relates to heater units and particularly to a unituseful in directing heat into an article during its travel along apredetermined path. By way of example, in certain glass-forming machinesaccumulations or charges of molten glass, while traveling from a supplysource toward forming apparatus, lose an excessive amount of heat incertain regions thereof and upon being subjected to forming operationsdo not respond in a satisfactory manner. For example, if theaccumulation of glass is to be blown, a poor wall thickness distributionmay result because of the preceding excessive chilling of a particularportion of the accumulation or charge during its travel toward theforming apparatus.

According to the invention a heater unit has heat output elementsprovided along the path of travel of an article or a glass mold chargeand is operated in such a fashion that its heat output is directed intothe article or charge upon its entrance into such path and maintains itsinitial heat input relationship therewith as it travels along such path.In the specific embodiment herein illustrated and described, the heatercomprises a combustion fuel burner having jet burners with outlets orpassages arranged in a row along the path of travel of glass charges tobe heated. Air for supporting combustion is continuously supplied alongthe entire row of such jet burners.

Combustion fuel is temporarily supplied to the burners in closesuccession from a source supplied to them via a spiral groove in a shaftwhich is rotated at the speed necessary to present fuel to thesuccessive jet burners of the row at a speed in accordance with thespeed of travel of a glass charge so that the flame is propagated fromthe outlet of one burner to another and therefore continues to bedirected toward such charge throughout its travel along such path.

For a better understanding of the invention reference is now made to theaccompanying drawing wherein FIG. 1 shows in side elevation and, partlyin section, a fragment of a well-known form of glass blowing machinewith glass being supplied thereto and of an associated heater unitembodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the heater unit.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a small fragment of the heater unit.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the reference numerals 11 and 12designate ribbon forming rollers of a well-known form of glass bulbblowing machine having a stream of glass 13 being fed therebetween. Theribbon of glass issuing from between such rollers, as illustrated, hasaccumulations or charges 15 formed therein in uniformly spaced relationand is being deposited upon a conveyor embodying a chain of orificeplates 14 over whose orifices 16 the charges 15 from which ware is to beformed are arranged; see for example Woods et al., U.S. Patent No.1,790,397. The charges such as 15 after traveling some distance aresubjected to a shaping Patented Feb. 8, 1966 operation by blowing airsupplied by blowheads such as 18. Extending along and below thehorizontal path of charges 15 and their supporting orifice plates 14 tothe region of blowhead 18, is a heater unit comprising a combustion fuelburner having three parallel rows of jet burners 36 having burner portsor outlets such as 17 directed toward the path of travel of the regionof the orifice plates occupied by their orifices.

The burner embodies a tubular shaft 21 rotatably mounted in a closelyfitting burner body 22 having suitable bearings such as 23 for shaft 21embodied in the ends thereof and retained therein by end plates 24 and25 respectively. Suitable O-rings such as 27 occupy suitable grooves inshaft 21 near their ends to provide gas tight seals between the shaftends and body 22. Endwise movement of shaft 21 relative to body 22 isprevented by suitable adjusting and lock nuts 31 and threaded onto shaft21.

The shaft 21 has a spiral groove 33 thereabout whose pitch correspondsto the spaces between the centers of the orifices 15 of two adjoiningorifice plates 14 for reasons which will appear hereinafter. The groove33 at its ends terminates in annular grooves such as 34 to continuouslysupply fuel to an end burner 36 of a row to provide pilot flames such as65 at the burner ends. Passages such as 35 pass through the bottom ofgroove 33 into the bore of shaft 21 to provide for the passage of acombustion fuel, supplied to such bore, to such groove.

The burner body 22 is provided with passages arranged in three parallelrows, extending lengthwise of the assembly and each occupied by a tubecomprising a jet burner 36. As will be noted in FIG. 4, the positions ofthe jet burners 36 of the respective rows form transverse rowscorresponding to the pitch of the groove 33 and that their linearspacing is such as to bring as many as nine of the ports or outlets 1'7of such jet burners into register with such groove at one time.

Burner body 22, as seen from FIG. 3, has formed in its outer surfacelongitudinally thereof combustion supporting air supply channels 41, 42and 43. Semiannular channels such as 44 connect channels 41, 42 and 43in free communication with one another. A conduit 45 in communicationwith channel 42 is provided for supplying combustion supporting air tothe respective channels.

Transverse slots 49 in body 22 extend between the channels 41 and 43 andregions adjacent the outer ends of jet burners, such as 36. A casing ortube 50 has an opening 51 surrounding the rows of jet burners 36 andclosely surrounds body 22 to close the respective channels 41 to 43 andall but the extreme outer ends of grooves 49 in body 22.

The bore of shaft 21 at one end is connected to a fuel supply linethrough a suitable rotatable coupling 61. At its other end shaft 21 isadapted to be driven through the medium of associated miter gears 62 and63 and a. stub shaft 64, and driving mechanism of the machine with whichthe burner is associated.

Operation When air is supplied to the burner, through conduit 45, and agaseous fuel is fed into the bore of shaft 21, through conduit 60, aminute volume of the fuel escapes from the groove 33 to about the outersurface of shaft 21 and through the jet burners along the entire lengthof the rows thereof. Although the amount of fuel escaping in thisfashion may conveniently be sufficient to support a very short pilotflame along the entire length of the burner, the end jet burner 36 isthe pilot flame source relied upon. As will be seen, since the pitch ofthe spiral groove equals the pitch or spacing between orifice platecenters of the machine, by arranging the shaft 21 in the 3 proper rotaryposition with respect to the burner body 22, groups of rows of jetburners 36 that are in register with the groove 33 will be in registerwith the orifice plate orifices arranged over the burner outlets 17 ofsuch burners. Fuel will accordingly be issued therefrom aided bycombustion air supplied through the ends of associated slots 49 and willbe initially ignited by the pilot flame issuing from an end jet burner36 and direct their own flames against the bottom of glass bodiesarranged over the orifices 15. By establishing a suitable drive betweenthe mechanism of the machine which drives the conveyor of orifice platesand the stub 64, shaft 21 is rotated at the speed required to maintainor propagate the flames from jet burner to jet burner as theysuccessively become directed toward the respective glass charges. Aswill thus be seen, a glass heating flame is issued from the burner asacharge 15 deposited on an orifice plate 14 passes over a pilot flame65, and a flame continues to be fed from consecutively associated jetburners which continue to direct heat into such body until it has passedover the last group of burners in the rows.

I claim:

1. The combination with glass-working apparatus wherein molten glasscharges are conveyed along a predetermined path on their way to formingapparatus, of a burner unit having outlets along said path arranged todirect combustion flames toward a charge moving alongsaid path, andmeans associated with said unit for supplying combustion fuel to saidoutlets in succession continuously to direct a flame toward a charge asit travels along said path.

2. The combination according to claim 1 in which said burner comprises ashaft having a hollow bore, said shaft having an outer surface in theform of a surface of revolution about an axis, said shaft beingrotatable about said axis, a continuous spiral groove formed in saidouter surface of said shaft, said spiral groove having a plurality ofconvolutions and terminating at at least one end thereof in an annularportion of said groove extending around said shaft, means for thepassage of gas from said bore to said groove, a hollow body about saidshaft having an interior surface comprising a surface of revolutioncontiguous with the outer surface of said shaft, said outlets beingformed in said hollow body along a line generally parallel to said axis,said axis being generally parallel to said predetermined path, at leastone of said outlets communicating with said annular portion of saidgroove at all positions of rotation of'said shaft, means for supplying acom bustible gas tosaid bore of said shaft, and means for rotating saidshaft in a direction such that said groove and said line meet ataplurality oflocations, eachof over an orifice of an. orifice plate andmeans for advancing said flame in unison with such plate to maintain theassociation of said flame with said charge during its travel toward saiddischarge position.

4.The combination with glass-working apparatus wherein preformed moltenglass charges are arranged over.

orifices of a chain of continuously traveling orifice plates and aresubsequently blown to hollow form in molds temporarily associatedtherewith during their'travel along a path toward a discharge position,of a row of heater elements along the path of travel ofthe charge, andmeans for activating said elements in succession to maintain thesubstantially continuousidirection of heat into such charge during itstravel over that portion of its path along which said row of'heaterelements are arranged.

5. The combination with glass-working apparatus wherein molten glasscharges are conveyed in uniformly spaced relation along a predeterminedpath on their Way to forming apparatus, of a burner unit having outletsalong said, path arranged to direct combustion flames toward all chargestraveling along said path, and means,

associated With said unit for supplying combustible fuel to the outlet,directed toward a charge entering said path and for supplyingcombustible fueLin succession to the appropriate ones of said outlets tomaintain a flame directed toward each said charge during its travelalong said path.

References Cited vby the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,807,55 66DONALL H. SYLVESTER, Primary Examiner.

apparatus 5/1931 Cannield 184 X

1. THE COMBINATION WITH GLASS-WORKING APPARATUS WHEREIN MOLTEN GLASSCHARGES ARE CONVEYED ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH ON THEIR WAY TO FORMINGAPPARATUS, OF A BURNER UNIT HAVING OUTLETS ALONG SAID PATH ARRANGED TODIRECT COMBUSTION FLAMES TOWARD A CHARGE MOVING ALONG SAID PATH, ANDMEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID UNIT FOR SUPPLYING COMBUSTION FUEL TO SAIDOUTLETS IN SUCCESSION CONTINUOUSLY TO DIRECT A FLAME TOWARD A CHARGE ASIT TRAVELS ALONG SAID PATH.